Her shout prompted the others. Everyone looked into the distance. The boats, which were moving at full speed, had begun to slow. They were moving at a snail’s pace.

The frantic motions of the people on board were clear for everyone to see. While no one was sure of what was happening, one thing was certain: the people on the boat were in trouble.

"What’s happening?" a bodyguard asked.

Another chimed in, "The boats are taking water...rapidly."

Kain picked up Avery, and she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "Did you and your brothers do this?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She smiled widely, nodding her head. "Dad said they were bad guys. Brother said they were 5’s."

The statement was made so matter-of-factly that Kain couldn’t give a response. In her mind, as long as they aren’t useful or the person she cares about says something is bad, then it needs to be eliminated.

To Kain, the logic is sound. To others, the fact that a child’s first instinct is to harm, it might clash with others’ moral compass.

"You and your brothers did well," he praised.

He looked down at the two little ones at his side. Their expressions were overly enthusiastic, but the faint shimmer in their eyes told him everything he needed to know.

"But just so you three know, your dad is also a bad guy. I could have stopped them from taking the food, but I didn’t."

"That’s not being bad," Dominic spoke up. "If you don’t have food, you die."

Dominic pressed his hand to his stomach. Kain inhaled sharply. He never asked exactly what they had gone through, and the information Jake and Veronica found was minuscule.

He thought about the backpacks they carried with them everywhere. They had been with them for almost a month at this point, but they felt the need to have the bags at all times.

There was canned food, blankets, and clothes inside. They were ready to leave at any time. Kain took a quick look at the bond levels for the three children.

Avery’s was the highest with 25%. Ashton was at 20%, but Dominic’s was only 10%. Kain wondered if the child didn’t have a sense of security. But there was really nothing he could do. He knew nothing about raising a child.

He only knew he had to be patient.

"Alright, I’m not a bad guy." Kain ruffled Dominic’s hair. "If I do something worse one day, you can’t think I’m a bad guy."

The three children tilted their heads, not understanding. Kain didn’t need them to understand. Their only goal at present was to eat, sleep, and have fun.

He turned his attention back to the people flailing on the boats. He could see them actively using their hands and some buckets to get the water out of the boats. He had no idea what the children used, but he was a little proud.

From his perspective, he saw some pointing in their direction. He assumed it meant they wanted to turn back. This made sense because from what Kain could see, the nearest building was quite some distance away.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned north, the direction of Paradise Gates. Even with his enhanced eyesight, what he saw was a white dot. Before the tsunami, he could see the luxury apartments displayed proudly.

Now, all he saw was the murky water and the small dot of white.

’It’s already started expanding.’

Everyone was staring at the sinking boats; they had no time to take notice of Kain, so they didn’t see the slight melancholy cross his features.

As confident and easy-going as he appeared, he had hoped all along that the days of suffering would not happen. He wanted himself to be wrong. Taking a deep breath, he shook off sadness. His posture relaxed.

He put Avery back on her feet and let her play with her brothers.

Hands in his pockets, he watched with amusement as they turned the boats around. Having stolen the food, they must feel like shit after needing to go back to the place they robbed.

He rubbed his hands together. The possibility of seeing the fight he had been longing for brightened his mood.

Unfortunately, Kain’s hopes were soon dashed.

In the silence of the group, Veronica’s voice cut through. "What the hell is that?" She pointed a finger at a point just beyond the boat.

A dorsal fin cut through the water. As those on shore squinted to see. The people in the boats were too preoccupied with getting the boats back to shore to notice what was behind them.

It wasn’t until too late that they noticed the sound of water whooshing behind them.

They turned, only to come face to face with a massive dorsal fin. The screams began immediately. They paddled and tried to maneuver away, but the fish had no intention of letting them go.

The louder they screamed, the closer it came.

Until finally, it surged forward. The collision of the boats made a banging sound. The fish breached the surface of the water, mouth open.

The boats crashed, and everyone spilled out.

Splashing, screaming, and swimming, they tried to get away. But one fish became two and three. It was then that they knew the first was only meant to capsize them, the rest simply opened their mouths for the meal.

Before long, the only left were sections of the boats, floating on the surface.

The group, on shore, watched the chaos. There was audible gulping, gaping mouths, and startled cries. The sudden sound of cheering caused the tense atmosphere to become more tense.

The children cheered as they watched the fish capsize the boats. Kain distinctly heard Ashton say he wanted a fish like that. He couldn’t help chuckling. His chuckle made the adults who felt it was harsh to punish the kids for laughing turn to give disapproving glares to Kain.

He shrugged, looking innocent, then turned back to look at the school of fish.

He stared. He wanted to confirm one thing.

At first, seeing the dorsal fin, he thought it might be a shark. But the shape was odd. He didn’t rule out the fact until he saw the animal breach. When it opened its mouth and half its body was outside the water, that’s when Kain was certain.

The fish that just ate the group of people were actually Koi.